BRIEFS: New CRP practice to address wildlife needs

April 27, 2008

A new habitat practice that enrolls croplands, wetlands, existing grass or expired Conservation Reserve Program acres into CRP is available to landowners.

State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement, administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Services Agency, is a cooperative conservation effort based on locally developed conservation proposals that target species of conservation priority and their habitats.

SAFE allocates 500,000 acres nationwide, with 27,000 available to North Dakota. There are three SAFE priority focus areas within the state where land may be eligible:

+ 1,000 acres allocated to the Southwest North Dakota Sagebrush Restoration SAFE project for sage grouse and other species that depend on shortgrass sagebrush prairie.

+ 20,000 acres allocated to the Coteau-Drift Prairie Waterbank SAFE project in the central portion of the state, commonly known as the Missouri Coteau and Drift Prairie, for waterfowl, shorebirds and other birds.

+ 6,000 acres allocated for the Eastern North Dakota Tallgrass Prairie Restoration SAFE project, which consists of two areas in the eastern edge of the state for greater prairie chickens and other grassland nesting birds.

Croplands, wetlands or existing grass within the focus areas may be enrolled in SAFE practice CP38 on a continuous basis until the 27,000 acre allocation is reached. CRP that expired Sept. 30, 2007 must be offered for enrollment by June 1.

Landowners should contact their county Farm Service Agency office to determine if their land is eligible. CRP contracts can be for a period of 10-15 years. Landowners will receive annual rental payments for the term of their CRP contract, as well as cost-share assistance, and in some cases practice incentive payments and signup incentive payments from the USDA.

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department will also provide up to 50 percent of the cost of grass seed, as well as additional incentives for landowners who allow public access on the CRP through the Department’s Private Land Open To Sportsman program.

Interested landowners should contact their county FSA office or the North Dakota Game and Fish Department for more information.

– Daily News Staff

Nonresident any-deer bow licenses all issued

North Dakota’s nonresident any-deer archery licenses, good for either whitetail or mule deer, have all been issued for the 2008 bow season.

A total of 1,252 any-deer bow licenses were available for nonresidents. The N.D. Game and Fish Department began issuing them March 1.

The number of nonresident any-deer bow licenses available is 15 percent of the previous year’s mule deer gun license allocation. The department issued 8,350 mule deer licenses in the 2007 deer gun lottery.